Children in California who want to buy or rent a violent video game without a parent's permission could have that right taken away by a federal appeals panel, which heard arguments on the case Wednesday.

This year's downscaled E3 video game expo drew about 4,500 gamemakers, analysts, retailers and journalists to L.A. last week less than a tenth of E3's size two years ago even as the industry grew from $10.5 billion in 2005 to $18 billion in 2007.

With their sense of exploration and their knack for the interactive, gamers should make natural adventurers. So, given a $1,500 budget for a game-related vacation, where would they go? To a videogame conference? What about a museum or a top-notch arcade?